The Three Stooges Meet Hercules (1962)

The Three Stooges Meet HerculesWhen time traveling back to ancient Greece, remember to bring back plenty of autographs.The morons in this comedy, however, rewrote history instead.Moe (Moe Howard) Larry (Larry Fine) and Curly Joe (Joe DeRita) become chummy with their neighbour, Schuyler (Quinn Redeker), who just built a time machine.Schuyler, the Stooges and Schuyler's girlfriend Diane (Vicki Trickett) take the machine back to ancient Ithaca.Accidentally altering history along the way, Schuyler and the Stooges are exiled to the galleys by the new King Odius (George N. Neise), who wishes to take Diane for his wife.But the boys and their benefactor plot to depose of the wrongful ruler with help from Hercules (Samson Burke).The Stooges' third feature film, this Herculean outing may lack the original lineup but it's not short on their asinine antics.Furthermore, if the Three Stooges rewrote history, universal heath care would have to be mandatory. Green Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca

1) Note the Title. (2) You know the cast. (3) Since Hercules is mentioned, we know the story occurs in ancient Greece. And since we are now in ancient times, the focus will be on galleys, slaves, kings, and wild beasts. There will even be a mythical creature, a two-headed, four-legged Cyclops! For the first time since 1945 (Rockin' in the Rockies), The Three Stooges came back to features in 1959. About midway into their renaissance came this feature, which has both a plot and decent script. The sets are most acceptable, although some may complain that the budget was not high. The story involves three pharmacy workers who are accidentally transported back in time to the early period of ancient Greece, nearly three millennia ago. They will tangle with the evil usurper Odius and his henchman, Hercules (don't worry, the strongman will later see the right way). Of course there will be the slapstick and obligatory anachronisms, but pay no heed. We will see head-smacks and food in faces. The Greeks will speak and understand English (although Moe will utter something like "… I'll clobber anyone who says it's all Greek to me" when the Stooges encounter a Greek language sign.). As the guys are aging and somewhat subdued, one cannot expect them to sustain their old zaniness of the 1930s. Nevertheless, it is great to see the old comedy act extend into the 1960s, with two of the three original Stooges still around to pick up some royalty checks. Around 1965 there was a Tonight Show episode with Johnny Carson, who had the Three Stooges as guests. He asked about their LAST movie feature. Curly Joe quipped, "You mean our LATEST one." The audience, of course, was delighted. Joe DeRita as Curly Joe assumed the Curly/Shemp/Besser role. While Curly Joe looked like the old Curly, some folks complained that he was not as funny. The criticism is rather gratuitous, as no one else could have been Curly either. And Curly Joe certainly was an improvement over Joe Besser. In all, he fit in pretty well as the third Stooge.It is a positive thing that the Stooges could finally make movies and receive the financially rewarding royalties, something denied them during their long tenure at Columbia (1934-1959). This movie is a must for Stooges' fans, and is an improvement over their post-Shemp short films of the latter half of the 1950s. People wanted to laugh at the Stooges during their revival, and they were indeed kept happy by some good gags (for one, see Hercules disrupt the king's speech by cracking nuts with his biceps). By the way, this movie made money. It deserved to do so.

"The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" is considered by many Stooge fans to be the best feature film the boys ever made, and while it is not my personal favorite Stooge feature, I do concur that this film is quite excellent. Wonderfully directed by Edward Bernds, with a very good music score by Paul Dunlap, this film is a time-travel adventure story, with Moe, Curly-Joe, and Larry cast as pharmacists who help their friend Schuyler Davis (Quinn Redeker) with his bizarre space-time conveyor. Schuyler, his girlfriend Diane (Vicki Trickett), and the Stooges all take a trip from New York back to Ancient Greece, approximately 900 B.C.My favorite scenes from "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" include the following (DON'T read any further if you haven't yet seen this picture). At the pharmacy, Larry and Curly-Joe try to concoct their own elixirs, and they make a huge mess instead; particularly funny is Larry's act of accidentally hitting Moe in the back of the head with a flying bottle. Familiar Stooges character actor Emil Sitka has a small but humorous part as a shepherd who gives confusing directions. The Stooges clumsily attempt to break Ulysses (John Cliff) out of jail (reminiscent of the Stooges' earlier 1947 short "Out West"). When the boys try to repair Schuyler's time machine, they accidentally set off some fireworks. The Stooges disguise themselves as women when they find themselves in a women's bathing area, but their disguises don't last very long. On the galley ship, the Stooges overpower their captors, and Larry & Curly-Joe dance around the ship while Moe bangs the slave master's drum."The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" is a very enjoyable feature-length comedy. The supporting cast consists mostly of unknowns, but they do first-rate work. In addition to Quinn Redeker, Vicki Trickett, and Emil Sitka, there are Samson Burke as the mighty Hercules, Gene Roth (who appeared in various earlier Stooge shorts with both Shemp and Joe as the third Stooges) as a harbor captain, and George N. Neise as two lecherous heels: Ralph Dimsal (head of the pharmacy where the Stooges & Diane work) and Odius (the undeserving king of all Ithaca).

"The stooges meet hercules" is a great movie. Its great for all ages. Young and old. I wish the stooges made more movies. Its a real funny movie, the stooges go back in time and meet Hercules, who eles... alls going well till the stooges along with their friend end up in jail, on a slave ship. What seems like years, goes by and the stooges' friend gains more power than 50 men put together. (What a great work out!) In the end they go back to fright Hercules and win the girl. I know what I just said seems like a bad movie, but it really is a great movie. And real funny too.